Washington, DC - US prosecutors have recommended that the Department of Justice (DoJ) bring criminal charges against Boeing, following claims that the plane maker violated a settlement agreement related to two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft, which killed 346 people.
Boeing has declined to comment on the recommendation but has previously denied breaching the deferred prosecution agreement. The DoJ has until July 7 to decide on whether to prosecute the company. According to CBS, the recommendation is not final, and details of any potential criminal action are currently unknown.
Ed Pierson, executive director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a former senior manager at Boeing, highlighted the significance of the impending decision. Speaking to the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, Pierson pointed to ongoing issues with Boeing's 737 Max and 787 models, attributing them to leadership failures.
The crashes involved Boeing's 737 Max aircraft: one with Indonesia's Lion Air in October 2018, and another with Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019. Relatives of the victims have urged prosecutors to impose a $25 billion fine on Boeing and pursue criminal charges.
In 2021, Boeing agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement, with prosecutors set to drop a criminal charge after three years if the company met specific conditions under the deferred prosecution agreement. However, the DoJ recently stated that Boeing breached the agreement by failing to implement an adequate compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect fraud violations.
Boeing's outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun faced intense questioning from US senators last week. Although Calhoun testified that Boeing had learned from past mistakes and assured that the whistleblower process was effective, lawmakers accused him of insufficiently addressing a culture of retaliation.
Ongoing investigations have revealed serious production issues with Boeing's 737 Max, 787 Dreamliner, and 777 models. In January, a door panel fell off a new 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight, exposing a gaping hole.
Calhoun, who will step down as CEO at the end of 2024 with a $33 million pay package, will remain on Boeing's board. He succeeded Dennis Muilenburg, who was fired following the two crashes. Pierson criticized the leadership changes at Boeing as superficial, noting that Calhoun had been with the company for a decade before becoming CEO in 2019, and stressing the long-term impact of executive decisions on millions of people.